GERARD OF YORK

Archbishop of York; d. Southwell, England, May 21, 1108. Gerard was probably a distant relative of England's Norman royal house; one of his uncles was bishop of Winchester, another abbot of Ely; he himself was a resolute supporter of the royal policy, a beneficiary of royal favor and for most of his career lined up as an opponent to Abp. anselm of canterbury. Called from the precentorship of Rouen to serve King william ii Rufus in chancery and chapel, he was entrusted with a secret mission to Rome in 1095. His success brought him the bishopric of hereford, though he was not yet in deacon's orders. Anselm ordained him deacon and priest and then consecrated him bishop the next day (June 8, 1096). On the accession of King henry i of England in 1100, Gerard was made archbishop of york, but it was only after a dispute that Anselm issued the necessary letters of confirmation for presentation to the Pope. The rivalry between Henry and Anselm soon permeated the wider issues of the investiture struggle in England. Church and State, archbishop and king, each presented his case before the Pope. Three prelates, led by Gerard, represented the King, but though Gerard earned Pope paschal ii's praise for his able and eloquent presentation of Henry's cause, the verdict was for Anselm. It was conveyed in peremptory letters requiring the King's submission. But on his return Gerard claimed to have secret assurances that these stern demands would not be enforced. The Pope vigorously denied this and excommunicated Gerard and his associates until they had confessed the fraud and made satisfaction. At the same time Gerard was forced to profess canonical obedience to canterbury, though he continued to claim coequality of dignity. This Canterbury-York quarrel over primacy was further embittered when Gerard was ordered (1103) by the King to consecrate three bishops whom Anselm had refused to consecrate on the grounds that they had received investiture from the King. When Gerard attempted to begin the ceremony, it was interrupted, his presence was challenged, and the ceremony broke up in confusion. During Anselm's exile Gerard busied himself in restoring order and discipline in his own extensive province. He received from Pope Paschal a severe rebuke for having supported the king against Anselm, and this may explain Gerard's change of attitude, for he was among those who entreated Anselm to return. And the reconciliation seems to have been complete: Gerard took his place among the prelates who officiated in the long-deferred consecration of bishops (August 1107). His conflict with Anselm and his consistent support of the royal policy made him many enemies; he is charged by the chroniclers with licentiousness, avarice, and the practice of magic. His cortege was pelted with stones on entering York; his canons refused him burial within the cathedral; his body was ignominiously buried outside its walls but later it was interred within the cathedral by one of his successors. Two of his letters are printed among Anselm's correspondence; some mediocre verses written by him are contained in a MS in the British Museum (Cotton, Titus D. xxiv. 3).

Bibliography: raine, Fasit Eboracenses, sources. anselm of canterbury, Opera Omnia, ed. f. s. schmitt, 6 v. (Edinburgh 1946–61). The Dictionary of National Biography from the Earliest Times to 1900, 7:1087–89. r. w. southern, Saint Anselm and His Biographer (New York 1963), 35–138.

[j. h. baxter]